"Cock"

[Benjamin Barrett]

I found my 1982 abridged edition of "Slang and Euphemism" by Spears, which cites 1800s and before for this use.

"6. the female genitals. In much of the Southern U.S. and Caribbean, "cock" refers to the female organs exclusively. Possibly related to COCKLES (q.v.). Cf. sense 2. [U.S. dialect and Negro stage, 1800s and before] 7.. women considered solely as sexual objects. From sense 6. 8. to receive a man in copulation, said of a woman. [British, 1800s, Farmer and Henley]"

Benjamin Barrett
Seattle, WA

On Aug 16, 2011, at 9:19 AM, Ronald Butters wrote:

> According to the first citation in DARE, COCK in Indiana in the 1890s =
> applied to both male and female genitalia. And the final citation, from =
> American Speech 1970, says the both-sex reference is found in Missouri. =
> Neither seems particularly "postmodern." Of course the reporters could =
> be wrong, but I doubt that politics has much to do with what southern =
> folk called their genitals in the earlier 20th century. Of course, that =
> doesn't mean somebody can't find an excuse to make a little =
> sociopolitical rant, even so.

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